Spanish Football League files lawsuit over 2022 World Cup dates

Madrid, (IANS) The Spanish Football League (LFP) has filed a lawsuit with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) over world football’s governing body FIFA’s decision to host the 2022 Qatar World Cup in the middle of the European football season.

The scheduled date of the quadrennial tournament between November 20th and December 18th in order to “avoid high temperatures in the country during the spring and summer,” would seriously affect the Spanish season, which along with most major European leagues is played between August and May, reports Xinhua.

LFP president Javier Tebas commented on Sunday that it has submitted three separate reports to the CAS which show that “by moving the World Cup to the winter, we will lose 65 million euros (around $73 million).”

Tebas confirmed that leagues such as the English Premier League, the Bundesliga and Serie A all supported his move but have so far failed to put their signature on any lawsuits.

“There is still a lot of fear of FIFA,” said Tebas, who insisted that “nobody should be scared of filing a lawsuit in order to defend their legitimate rights.”

The French Football League has voiced its support to the Spanish move after its president Frederic Thiriez earlier saying his organisation was “ready to support all the legal procedures that can be performed by the leagues against FIFA.”

But curiously, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), led by FIFA vice president Angel Maria Villar, has not supported the LFP.

It is believed Villar and Tebas are not in the best of terms with both men keen to undermine the other’s power and influence.